Hellfire Club – Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men

408 – Yabba Yabba Yabba

April 23, 2023 Jay 7 comments

In which Bishop gets another miniseries; splinter timelines make fun narrative sandboxes; the X.S.E. goes detecting; the Statue of Liberty never fares well in dystopian futures; “Booger” is not a name you give yourself; and we can’t believe it’s taken us this long to make a hanky code joke about Bishop.

X-PLAINED:

Graymalkin
Bishop: X.S.E. #1-3
Bishop (more) (again)
Earth-1191
The X.S.E.
Hecate
Malcolm
Randall
The popularity of Earth-1191 miniseries
The solid-light hologram of Theseus
The Fanatix
Pulsar
Dogface
Hardball
Razorback
Kali (but not that one)
Shadowbox
“Quotations”
Seldon Trask
A mystery
The Rook
Annabella Knox
Anthony Shaw
The Bay Borough
The best episode of Justice League Unlimited
Organic LMDs
A disguise
An uncanny child
Dazzler’s career
X-Adjectives

NEXT EPISODE: The M-Plate Saga!

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As Mentioned in Episode 405 – Morally Purple

April 2, 2023 Jay Leave a comment

Listen to the episode here.

So, that’s a thing. (Cable #-1)

Honestly, I kinda wish Cable had sported this look for longer. (Cable #-1)

THE BOW TIE (Cable #-1)

Cable’s future may be kind of dystopian, but it’s also rad as hell. (Cable #-1)

Damn, bro. (Cable #-1)

On one hand, yes, he’s very dashing. On the other hand, they are definitely foster siblings. (Excalibur #-1)

Hey, we know that guy! (Excalibur #-1)

This is Sabu. Don’t get attached. (Excalibur #-1)

Harry Leland knows how to dress to impress. (Generation X #-1)

I know it’s a byproduct of the foreshortening plus slightly murky colors, but from at least one angle, it looks like Hank has a human-skin rug. (Generation X #-1)

And then they never talked to or mentioned each other again. (Generation X #-1)

Rachel’s cloak is SO GOOD. (Uncanny X-Men #-1)

this genocidal disco motherfucker (Uncanny X-Men #-1)

Tanya, NO. (Uncanny X-Men #-1)

NEXT EPISODE: More flashbacks!

LINKS & FURTHER BACKSTORY

Go check out Al’s podcast, House to Astonish!

405 – Morally Purple

March 27, 2023 Jay 8 comments

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In which Jay returns; babies are bad at pretty much everything; continuity flies straight out the window; Cable should speak English with a Scottish accent; Harry Leland knows how to dress; Tanya Trask makes the same time travel mistake everyone makes; and we love Al Kennedy forever.

X-PLAINED:

Sentry (but not that one)
Babies
Flashback
Cable #-1
Excalibur #-1
Generation X #-1
Uncanny X-Men #-1
The preturn of Angus McWhirter, angry hovercraft-rental guy
Hippie Cable
Veins of science
Yet another time travel loop
What may or may not be how Nightcrawler quit the circus
Sabu
“Science”
A large volume of dubious continuity
Larry Trask (more) (again)
Jay’s cosplay aspirations
Sanctity (Tanya Trask)
The Twelve (somewhat)
A possible splinter timeline
The X-Men of 1602
Rube Goldberg

NEXT EPISODE: Flashback continues!

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Jay and Miles X-Plain the X-Men is 100% ad-free and listener supported. If you want to help support the podcast–and unlock more cool stuff–you can do that right here!

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As Mentioned in Episode 366 – Nine-Tenths of the Law

March 27, 2022 Jay Leave a comment

Listen to the episode here.

Art by David Wynne. Wanna buy the original? Drop him a line!

The first issue of a cleverly disguised Karma series. (Beast #1)

Arms! (Beast #1)

Sam Guthrie as played by Sean Cassidy. (Beast #1)

The twins, post-Body Shop. (Beast #2)

I love their weird creepy powers. (Beast #2)

Seriously what the hell. (Beast #2)

SERIOUSLY WHAT THE HELL. (Beast #2)

Big Silver Age energy. (Beast #3)

NEXT EPISODE: Jay and Conner X-Plain X-Casting!

366 – Nine-Tenths of the Law

March 20, 2022 Jay 11 comments

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In which the Beast miniseries is actually a cleverly disguised Karma miniseries; Gateway’s moral alignment remains a mystery; Cannonball rocks some sideburns; there are many reasons to dislike Viper; and every #1 is somebody’s first.

X-PLAINED:

An off-panel death
X-Force #62
Beast #1-3
Karma’s family and backstory (again)
Twin absorption
MacGuffins and/or children
Clearcut and Mindmeld
Unconsciousness
Spiral (again)
Marios
What to do (visually) with six arms
Spiral’s mutates
Some very impressive body horror
MId-fight stalling
Misplaced revenge
Hank McCoy’s multiversal offspring
The history of Karma’s sexual orientation

NEXT EPISODE: Jay and Connor Goldsmith X-Plain X-Plaining!

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Jay and Miles X-Plain the X-Men is 100% ad-free and listener supported. If you want to help support the podcast–and unlock more cool stuff–you can do that right here!

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As Mentioned in Episode 359 – Meanwhile in Britain

January 16, 2022 Jay 4 comments

Listen to the episode here.

Art by David Wynne. Wanna buy the original? Drop him a line!

Wraparound cover! (Excalibur #100)

Her eyes really did look cooler before. (Excalibur #100)

Do not try this at home. (Excalibur #100)

I’d read an odd-couple comic about these two. (Excalibur #100)

The media X-Plains Onslaught. (Excalibur #101)

He bullshits so well! (Excalibur #101)

Aw, Cap. (Excalibur #102)

Well, that’s foreboding. (Excalibur #102)

You almost–almost–feel sorry for the bad guys. (Excalibur #102)

That’s a lot of Nightcrawlers! (Excalibur #103)

Also some Shadowcats and Colossuses! (Excalibur #103)

Meanwhile in Limbo… (Excalibur #103)

NEXT EPISODE: This nonsense.

LINKS & FURTHER BACKSTORY

We covered the preceding events in Excalibur in Episode 337 – Wild Genes and Old Magic!

359 – Meanwhile in Britain

January 16, 2022 Jay 16 comments

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In which Excalibur has a lot going on; Margali Szardos is never up to any good; Nightcrawler grows into leadership; we delve into the politics of superheroism; Pete Wisdom earns his keep; Miles catches a Prisoner reference; and we reach the end of Warren Ellis’ Excalibur.

X-PLAINED:

John the Skrull
Excalibur #100-103
The current state of Excalibur
Black Air (again)
The Hellfire Club (London Branch)
Australia
Margali Szardos (more)
Demonic ethernet
Captain Britain’s new-old suit
Emma Steed
Dune
Several fights
Combat IT
Boolean definitions of madness
The Department
Laserdisks
Patriotism
Many doppelgangers
Nightcreeper
Another reference to Dante’s Inferno

NEXT EPISODE: Some absolute nonsense

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Jay and Miles X-Plain the X-Men is 100% ad-free and listener supported. If you want to help support the podcast–and unlock more cool stuff–you can do that right here!

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As Mentioned in Episode 337 – Wild Genes and Old Magic

June 20, 2021 Jay Leave a comment

Listen to the episode here.

Art by David Wynne. Wanna buy the original? Drop him a line!

The Hellfire Club WISHES Brian bothered to show up in a tux. (Excalibur #96)

Meet the new Kurt: Now 50% more Age of Apocalypse! (Excalibur #96)

Meet the new Meggan: Now 50% more… boobs, I guess? (Excalibur #96)

Scratch. (Excalibur #96)

Brian Braddock, WASP bishop of the Hellfire Club. (Excalibur #97)

hehe (Excalibur #97)

Well, fuck. (Excalibur #97)

Now this cover can live in your memory, too! (Excalibur #98)

Sartorial choices were made. (Excalibur #98)

Alas, poor Douglock. (Don’t worry. He’ll be back.) (Excalibur #98)

Oh. That guy. (Excalibur #99)

NEXT WEEK: Hawk Talk! NEXT EPISODE: X-Factor’s recruitment standards somehow drop even lower.

337 – Wild Genes and Old Magic

June 20, 2021 Jay 15 comments

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In which Excalibur is beset by shady organizations; Nightcrawler gets a new look; nobody hates Pete Wisdom as much as Lockheed hates Pete Wisdom; Brian Braddock should not be allowed to dress himself; Excalibur invades Black Air; and Onslaught continues to lurk.

X-PLAINED:

Some countries Magneto has invaded
Excalibur #96-99
Black Air (more) (again)
The London branch of the Hellfire Club
Nightcrawler’s new look
Meggan’s new look
The return of Alistaire Stuart
How not to dress for the Hellfire Club
The Shadow Cabinet (a little)
Hacking
Agent Scratch
Avengers vs. Avengers
Addiction recovery
Accreditation of the Xavier School
Developing a library X-collection

NEXT WEEK: Hawk Talk!

NEXT EPISODE: X-Factor’s increasingly low recruitment standards!

Check out the visual companion to this episode on our blog!

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Jay and Miles X-Plain the X-Men is 100% ad-free and listener supported. If you want to help support the podcast–and unlock more cool stuff–you can do that right here!

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